Monday, January 26, 2009

My Glorious Brothers

(This article was written by Dr. Ron Breiman and originally published on the Arutz Sheva/Israel National News website. Dr. Breiman is a former chairman of Professors for a Strong Israel and stands for election in the #8 spot on the Ichud Leumi list.)

By Dr. Ron Breiman

Israel is again at war. Also, again, we see national agreement about the necessity of this war. We see the disgusting phenomenon of Israelis identifying with their enemies, and even raising their flags, with the consent of the Supreme Court and the police.

We also see patriotic Israelis who, with pride, carry the burden and pay the price of a war imposed on us by the enemy. We clearly see the heavy price paid by those living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza among the fallen. One has to be impressed, and humbled at the same time, by the manner in which the families of those killed in action accept their heavy loss as the price of the honor of protecting and maintaining the security of Israel.

As a settler in Ramat Aviv, in north Tel Aviv, I take off the hat that I do not wear in honor and respect for my glorious brothers; those who carry the vision of settling the Land of Israel and risk their lives in the battles of Israel. It is totally clear that a Zionist and nationalist education, combined with pride in our heritage, provides values and dedication to the entire community, far more than an education that is merely an individual necessity.

All those who saw the TV program Politika on January 6, 2009, could not help but be astonished by the pathetic questions posed by the interviewer, Oded Shachar, implying the so-called "death" of Zionism. On the other hand, one had to be impressed by the vigorous response by Professor Ruth Gabizon, whose personal opinions are not "right-wing", but strongly in favor of Zionism.

In the Israeli reality, it is correct to classify the public into Zionists and those who disregard Zionism (now called "post-Zionists"). Therefore, the vision of Zionism is the real answer to the fantasy illusions of Peace Now.

Many people are confused about the division between nationalist Zionism and religious Zionism. One who identifies his- or herself as "national-religious" will most likely be identified also with the nationalist Zionist camp. But not all who are nationalist Zionists are religious Zionists. The nationalist Zionist camp is much broader and not limited only to the national-religious. One of the most common distortions in the Hebrew-language media is the identification that it creates between right-wing and religious, and between "settlers" and religious, as if there are no right-wingers or "settlers" who are non-religious.

On the other hand, there is yet another mistaken concept among many good people in the national-religious community regarding the non-religious members of what is known as the "Orange Camp" - the belief that there are none. Contributing to this is the claim, which is true, that the number of non-religious people who participate in demonstrations of the nationalist Zionist camp is small. But when those demonstrations have a religious theme, and the language of those demonstrations is religious - at times, even including a demand of separation between men and women - it becomes difficult for a secular "Orange" Zionist to take part.

It is on this background that the Hatikva Party was founded, to provide an address for secular "Orange" voters; but not only for them. This party has a responsibility and an obligation to make sure that no nationalist Zionist voter will be lost. We called upon other people to join and together form a Jewish nationalist list, but we stood very firmly on the principle that the list would not be identified as a religious list, but as a general one. Therefore, in the 2009 elections, the Ichud Leumi (National Union) Party will stand together as a single unit - religious and secular - without any fear at all.

In the war now taking place (despite a so-called ceasefire on January 18) it is obvious that many of the errors of the Lebanon War of 2006 have been taken into consideration. This is accurate only from the military point of view, but on the political and propaganda side of things, it seems to be a repetition of the 2006 war. The same Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni - a full partner in the failed leadership of that war, as she was the architect of the miserable UN Resolution 1701 - still does not understand her past errors and learn from them. She is on the same path to a similar political end; namely, yet another victory handed to the enemy. In the midst of this war, she repeats her stupidity about the vision she has of two states carved out of our tiny State of Israel.

It is immoral to run a war this way, for IDF soldiers to risk their lives in order for the Gaza Strip to be handed over to the Palestinian Terror Authority. A weaker Hamas is to be preferred to a stronger terrorist group under Mahmoud Abbas ("Abu Mazen").

He who endangers his life in order to defend the people of southern Israel, in a war caused by the expulsion of the Jews of Gush Katif, is doing so out of a feeling of Zionist national responsibility. He is definitely not doing so in order that, at some later date, the left-wing with Livni in charge can lead Israel to yet another expulsion of the Jews from Judea and Samaria. This view is common to all nationalist Zionists, be they religious or secular. The nationalist Zionist camp has to return Israel to Zionism - without any fear at all.

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About the Ichud Leumi

Welcome to the the Ichud Leumi (National Union) party's English langauge blog. The Ichud Leumi – the National Union, as its name implies, represents a broad consensus of the Israeli public that believes in the vital importance of safeguarding the security and national heritage of the Jewish People in the State of Israel. Unlike other parties that have fractured into splinter groups based on the personal interests of individual figures, Ichud Leumi has demonstrated that our leaders' priority is a united, strong and effective Right under the traditional banners of Zionist and Jewish values. We include religious and secular candidates, immigrants and native Israelis, men and women, those who emphasize the right of the Jewish People to live safely and proudly in all of the Land of Israel, and those whose priority is to strengthen the educational and social framework of the Jewish State. Together our candidates offer a practical platform of security, social and economic goals and accomplishments, representing the only major party that has stayed true to the ideals that have always defined the National Camp.